Schapelle Corby's jail term cut challenged

AN Indonesian anti-drugs group today challenged in court a presidential decision to slash the jail term of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby.

The National Anti-Narcotics Movement took the case to a state administrative court in Jakarta, and the challenge began with a half-hour closed-door hearing, the group's lawyer Henry Yosodiningrat said.

"The court examined the documents we submitted, listing all the legal reasons why we believe the five-year cut was unjustified,'' Yosodiningrat told AFP.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in May approved clemency for Corby, taking five years off her 20-year jail term. With other regular remissions, the move brought Corby's release date forward to September 20, 2017.

The anti-drugs group announced the following week that it would file a challenge, saying drug traffickers pose "a dangerous threat to our young generation''.

Corby's lawyer Iskandar Nawing said he was confident the president's decision was legally sound.

"We'll just wait until the court goes through the legal process, but we're sure the president's decision was legal,'' he told AFP.

Corby was convicted in 2005 for smuggling 4.1 kilograms of marijuana onto the resort island of Bali.

Indonesia enforces stiff penalties for drug trafficking, including life imprisonment and death.